Job satisfaction and locus of control in an academic setting

This study explored any relationships that existed between faculty members\u27 locus of control and job satisfaction at a small, private, faith-based university. Two demographic variables were also analyzed in the findings: number of years teaching in higher education and tenure status. The job satisfaction instrument used was the Job in General (JIG) scale (Ironson et al.), which measures global satisfaction. Perceived locus of control was measured by Duttweiler\u27s (1984) Internal Control Index (ICI). A total of 61 faculty members\u27 participated in this survey. Overall, the findings in this study were somewhat consistent with past research, to the extent that this could be assessed given a lack of reliability demonstrated on the ICI. The importance of the work that faculty perform and the sense of purpose and contentment that it provides could be construed as a reason for why praise for the purpose of completing a challenging task was less important in these faculty members\u27 motivational drives. The importance of autonomy in the work of faculty members\u27 satisfaction was clearly connected with the past findings of this vital component of motivation. No relationship between job satisfaction and locus of control was found, since the Internal Control Index instrument that was used in the study did not demonstrate reliability in the statistical analysis. Other important factors that may help leaders in higher education contribute to higher levels of job satisfaction among faculty were analyzed and discussed